Greetings!
It’s my second shift volunteering at the new IPRC. For the past few weeks, I’ve watched the space evolve because certificate program classes were continuing prior to the space opening to the public. Now that the space is open and in action, people are trickling in for the first time and trying to find their way around, just like me. Common questions include, “Where is the bathroom?”, and the general “Where is everything?!”
There are some pretty neat things going on at the new space. The workspace is giant, quite the contrast to the old space which was cramped yet cozy. Upon entering the space you approach the letterpress and screenprinting area, which is much more spread out than the previous space. (I’m personally excited about doing photo emulsion screen printing at the IPRC.) Once you walk into the workspace, you’ll turn to the right and find the bindfast station, which, like the letterpress area, is much more spread out than at the previous location. It is also located next to the garage door, which, on a sunny day, is sometimes open to let the light and the sun in. So, if you need a break from makin’ that zine, you can simply step outside and soak up the (seldom) Portland sun.
Continuing counter clockwise around the space, there is a corner under construction with movable walls. It supposedly will be served as a classroom of sorts. Adjacent to that is the entire cataloged IPRC zine library! This is a big deal because only half of the zines were out at the old space (the other half were in storage due to lack of space) Not only that, there’s empty space on the shelves! (And those spaces could be filled with your zines. *nudge, nudge* Just sayin.)
Then there is the infamous and oh so lovely Yeti Research Station (aka the IPRC computer lab). The yeti art exhibit has a whole new feel to it, where the art hangs with topographic maps of what I believe is Oregon in the background. In between the zine library and the research station is the recently debuted (and soon to be functioning) Zine Machine! The Zine Machine is a cigarette vending machine turned into mini zine vending machine, and every zine in the machine is $1 and fits into a cigarette box (The thought of having a mini zine in a Pall Mall case makes me chuckle.) The zines will be made by fellow zinesters at the IPRC and beyond. This means that YOU could have a zine in the zine machine, the IPRC is still accepting submissions!
Moving beyond the zine library, zine machine, and research station is the production area. Currently there is only one table to work at, but if I understand correctly there will be more soon. This is where our copiers, Stella and Super Stan, live as well.
And one of my favorite things about the workshop space is the reading loft! If you go up the stairs next to the letterpress area, you can either take a right at the top of the stairs and go to the finished classroom space, OR, you can go straight up, plop on a couch, and read a zine or watch everything going on down below. What’s not to love?
I wish I could accompany this with photos of the space, but quite frankly, I’m not sure if photos would do justice to show how much bigger the new space is, which is why you should come and check it out yourself! I’m excited to see how the space grows and what the IPRC becomes in the new space.
Until next time,
Fiona